Several months back I had the utmost pleasure to work with a wonderful woman by the name of Laura Wool.

Laura, a fantastic faux finisher, hired me to document some of her work for her new website. I spent a couple of weeks driving around north of the greater metro Atlanta area, going from one lovely home to another. We would meet and I would set about head scratching and problem solving aka trying to decide where to place my lights etc.

I was simply bowled over by the caliber of Laura’s work and thrilled to be part of the process. I was, in fact, so happy with the results that I plastered the images all over my own website. Well, finally Laura’s website is complete and launched. Yay! So this is my ‘shout out’ for Laura Wool.

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2009. All rights reserved.| Permalink |

OMG!!! I just spent the morning with three of the MOST fantastic children in the UNIVERSE.  Listen people, I’ve been doing this for more than 20 years.  When I say a kid is great….trust me, I DO know the difference.  This is actually my second time playing er…working with this family.  What a joy.  Great parents with the ‘just right’ mix of allowing their children freedom, yet raising good citizens.

I also have to tell you all I am loving my Nikon D700.  I did this entire shoot with natural light, and that bathroom the little girl was photographed in was DARK.  Dark for photography, that is.  But it was no problem with the higher ISOs provided by my new ‘favorite’ tool and a fast lens.  I decided to post process this with an ‘infrared’ look, so it has emphasized the ‘grain’.

I couldn’t resist sharing.  Mom and Dad haven’t even seen these yet…..shhhhhhh….this is just a lil’ sneak peek……Oh my, how I do love being a working photographer!

If you would like to read more, check out these articles:

High Key Studio Lighting – Tutorial

Photographing Young Children With Low Key Lighting – Tutorial

Studio Lighting for Headshots – Tutorial

How to Set Up a Photo Booth in Your Home

How to Photograph Large Groups in the Studio

Photographing Babies, Birth to One Year – Tips and Techniques

Using Bold Color in Portraiture – Tips and Techniques

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2009. All rights reserved.| Permalink | 4 comments

I could take this post in any number of directions. I could talk about bold color in portraiture, how to transform virtually any place into a photography studio, how to work with children of varying ages or how to work with a larger group of people. Let’s roll with the last one.

Posing a large group can be intimidating to even the most seasoned of photographers.   Let me say at this juncture that my particular style of photography is casual, fun and quirky.   My subjects are often on the floor and very little proppage is used.   Yes, proppage is a word.   It means ‘things you use to make yourself feel more like a real portrait photographer and therefore run the risk of having your work look like everybody else’s work’.  If you are looking for more traditional ways of grouping and lighting people, then I am not the photographer for you.

Mama Koku, storyteller extraordinaire, a traveling bard who spins tales in several African traditions, hired me to photograph her upcoming CD cover. During our initial phone interview (yes, clients interview us and we most assuredly interview them, let the circling and sniffing begin….) it was decided that a bright orange backdrop would fit the bill nicely.  We selected a time and place (the multi-purpose room of the local library branch) and we were off and running.

Mama Koku and her wonderful tribe of friends, family and neighbors began to arrive in stages.  I decided to break the ice by photographing smaller groups to begin with.  Actually, my very first shots were lighting tests with a dashing young man of unusual grace and presence.  This test helped me determine a two light setup would be best.  Shooting down at your subject is also a great way to emphasize their eyes, btw.  This shot below was just between young Mr. ‘I’ and me, as the room was quiet and empty except for the two of us.

Here is another shot illustrating the same principle.  This is Mama Koku seated, looking slightly back over her shoulder and up at me.  I was standing on the background paper mere feet from her, aiming down.  Look at those wonderful, warm eyes.

As more people arrived, I spied these two dashing young gentlemen.   They were thick as thieves and full of mischievous energy.   Sometimes the best thing to do is pair people up.   Having someone there with them, allows many children (adults too) to relax and not feel so on-the-spot.   Through the years I have found the back-to-back pose very effective.   It works especially well with boys, as they are often far more self-conscious in front of the camera than girls are.   It also gives them a way to touch, and I always insist their backs actually touch.   This has a profound psychological effect.   It says, in a primal way “I got your back”.   It also allows for maximum individualism.   Each subject is free to be, without visual input from the other.   Yet they each feel ‘safer’ and more confident than they would, all alone out there, in the big middle of all that cold seamless background paper.

All kids invariably love the ‘watching TV’ pose.   They like it even better when the photographer assumes the same position.   I spend a lot of time crawling around on the floor when I’m working.   When shooting like this, I’m usually on my belly, just like my subjects.  Did she just say belly? Yep. I always insist shoulders should be touching.  None of this ‘I’m not really in this photo with you’ stuff.  Either go all the way or don’t bother.  Either you like each other or you don’t and if you don’t, why bother to be photographed together?  I’m just not interested in all that in-between stuff, in photography or life.

Least you think it was all about the boys, look again.  Of course the girls wanted to get in on the action.  I suggested they line up but had no clue they were already miles ahead of me.  The relaxed and sweet energy between these girls was fantastic.  They just naturally configured themselves into a classic pyramid, which is one of the most effective ways to group people.  They got it exactly right!  We can tell they all know and like each other just by looking.

The following images illustrate how versatile the pyramid configuration can be.  Please note spaces were left for a graphic designer to drop in animated figures for the final artwork.

Sometimes within one configuration, you can use another.  Inside the pyramid below is a modified back-to-back pose.

As another handsome young man arrived to be added into the mix, I shifted to a diamond pose, which also happened to encompass a back-to-back pose.

Mama Koku is a storyteller.  I had the idea to pose her with children drapped about her person, much like the Native American Cochiti storyteller.  So I had her lie down and set about arranging some girls around her.  I decided to use only the girls in this one, because the boys were of an age to be extremely uncomfortable with this type of close, physical posing.  It is always best to work with, rather than against, your subject’s innate characteristics.  It is difficult to get warm, natural and engaging photographs of people who are woefully and wretchedly outside their comfort zone.

We also did a number of shots of Mama Koku actively engaged in the art of telling a story  For these shots, I had her sit on a small child’s chair and we gathered the younger children around her.  This took a bit of arranging and rearranging to make sure everyone’s face or profile was showing.

At the end of the shoot I asked Mama Koku if there was anything we hadn’t done that she would like to try.  She wanted some shots of the whole group standing.  Here goes:

By this time we had been working for about an hour and a half.  Everyone was relaxed and perhaps even a little tired…..

I couldn’t resist a little family love.  What’s not to love about mothers and daughters?  Yeah, I know.  Keep it to yourself.  You KNOW you love your mama.  And she loves you, right?  Right.

I realize I sometimes spend a fair amount of time on certain intangible things, like psychology or family and group dynamics.   That’s because those things MATTER.   This is aimed at all those folks who think any fool with a camera can be a photographer.   I would be remiss in my duties if I only talked about technique and equipment.   It takes SO much more to produce COMPELLING images of our fellow human beings.   It takes empathy, courage, strength of character, a sense of adventure and compassion, as well as killer instincts and lighting fast reflexes.   Here’s to all the people shooters out there.   Long may you prosper and thrive.   Without you, the world would be a lonelier and less colorful place.

Oh, here’s a shot of the room before I transformed it. Look closely and you can see my roll of orange background paper lying there waiting for me to finish my setup.

If you would like to read more, check out these articles:

Using Bold Color in Portraiture – Tips and Techniques

How to Set Up a Photo Booth in Your Home

High Key Studio Lighting Tutorial

Low Key Lighting Tutorial

Photographing Young Children with Low Key Lighting – Tutorial

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2008. All rights reserved.| Permalink | 3 comments

That is me up in the ‘cherry picker’ basket of a state of the art, quarter million dollar service truck! Oh. My. Gawd. I thought I had died and gotten a lift right up to heaven!!! I swear to Good Golly Miss Molly, I had SO MUCH FUN I would’a almost PAID the company that hired me to do it! Okay, just how many is TOO many exclamation points?

So, here I am, preparing for lift off with the driver/operator, a really nice guy by the name of Eddie. We’re right smack in the middle of downtown Atlanta on Peachtree Street. This is after Eddie so sweetly and precisely maneuvered that basket right down to the sidewalk, so I could practically walk right in.

Here we begin our ascent.

Going….

Going…..

Gone.

Here I am photographing the ground crew, who was photographing me : )

This is a view from the top looking north on Peachtree.

A slightly different, vaguely queasy making view.

Another shot from the ground crew, showing the scintillating action!

No matter how high I go in life, I still love the little people……down there on the sidewalk.

And here I am , all safe and sound, but completely JAZZED about the whole experience. Most of the people who know me realize I’m really just an overgrown 10 year boy in a 50 year old woman’s body. The 10 year old HAD A BLAST AND WANTS TO DO IT AGAIN!!!

Oh…..before I forget. So, what exactly was it I was photographing?

This:

Now don’t tell me life ain’t grand.

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2008. All rights reserved.| Permalink |

There are several ways you can create a rich, saturated backdrop. Many of them involve multiple light heads, specialty brackets and hardware, and colored gels. I will focus on the easiest and most economical way to do it, which is with a basic, one light set up. You don’t need to light your background and can just let the light fall off. This will render your backgrounds richly saturated. You can view the basic lighting set up in my Photographing Young Children with Low-Key Lighting tutorial and view suggestions and links in How To Set Up A Photo Booth In Your Home.

The entire session above was shot against intense tulip background paper. As you can see, we rocked that color for all it was worth, going both romantic and modern.  Never let it be said that pink cannot function as a ‘neutral’.  If you are interested in the paper I used, it is Savage Tulip in 107 inch, but you can also order it in the 53 inch width.

Several years ago we bought and renovated a 1964 ranch style home on the ‘wrong’ side of the tracks.  Literally.   But that’s another story.   My studio was in the living and dining rooms. One of the concessions to working in smallish places is making everything do double duty. I kept the living room portion as my main camera room and therefore, the walls and ceiling were painted a clean, true white, to make sure any light bouncing around remained ‘neutral’. The dining room was my ‘presentation’ room for presenting multimedia shows for our clients. I had the walls in the dining room portion painted a rich and textured shade of red, but because I knew I also wanted to shoot in there, they were painted with a matte finish, so as to avoid glare and hot spots.

I had the perfect opportunity to shoot in there when I did the music CD cover shots for Amy Lee, saxophonist extraordinaire.  She played with Jimmy Buffet and the Coral Reefer Band for many years and was just going solo.  She wanted a lush, sexy new look and by golly, we gave it to her.  We did several looks that day, some in the more typical white high-key, but her faves and ours were the ones shot in that red room.  Ask me nice sometime and I might tell you how I lit it.

Here is the actual CD insert:

If you ask almost anyone what they think the most difficult or challenging color to work with is, most of them would probably say orange.

Not me.  I LOVE ORANGE.  This fabulous family was so energetic and lively it was the perfect background for them.  Of course, we discussed and agreed upon this vivid shade in a pre-shoot phone consult, wherein I offered suggestions for clothing.  Once they arrived at the studio, we were off and running.  Of course, it never hurts to be prepared to change colors and course, if need be.

So, don’t be afraid of color.  Granted, it’s not for everyone, but if you have clients and friends who are up for the fun, grab it and run!

Look for future articles on how to make sushi with nothing more than a soft box and synch cords.  Just checking to see if you were really paying attention.  Because everyone knows you need a radio release to make sushi.  Geez.

If you would like to read more, check out these articles:

High-Key Portrait Lighting Tutorial

Low Key Portrait Lighting Tutorial

Photographing Young Children With Low Key Lighting – Tutorial

Studio Lighting for Headshots – Tutorial

How to Set Up a Photo Booth in Your Home

How to Photograph Large Groups in the Studio

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2008. All rights reserved.| Permalink | 4 comments

In optics, particularly as it relates to film and photography, the depth of field (DOF) is the portion of a scene that appears sharp in the image. Although a lens can precisely focus at only one distance, the decrease in sharpness is gradual on either side of the focused distance, so that within the DOF, the unsharpness is imperceptible under normal viewing conditions. –Wikipedia

Huh? Well, the easiest way to say this is, depth of field determines, in any given photograph, what is sharply focused and what isn’t.  How do you set depth of field?  With your choice of f/stops.  What is an f/stop?  It is how big or small your aperture opening is.  What is an aperture?  Inside each lens is a shutter, shaped like a wheel composed of individual, curved, overlapping blades.  These blades can open wide or close tight, and that, in a nutshell, is an aperture.  The larger the f/stop number, the smaller the aperture opening, and vice versa.  F/1.4 is a very big opening in your aperture, and creates very shallow DOF.  F/16 is a tiny opening in your aperture and creates great DOF.  See image:

So why do f/stops, apertures and depth of field matter?  Because they will affect how your photographs look.  They will determine what the FOCUS of your images is.  How powerful is that?  Let me illustrate.  The three photographs below were all taken within seconds of each other, using the same camera (Nikon D70),  the same lens (Nikon 50mm f/1.4-16), and the same point of focus (the rose.)

The first image was taken at f/16, which is the smallest aperture for this particular lens.  Notice how much of the background is in focus.  The rose was my point of focus, but it is overwhelmed by background clutter and just one more element in a busy image, with lots of different elements competing for your attention.

The second image was taken at f/5.6, which is effectively the ‘middle’ of the focal range for this particular lens.  Notice the background has become slightly more blurred and less focused, thus making the rose stand out a bit more.  However, there is still a lot of competition for your attention.

The third image was taken at f/1.4, which is wide open for this particular lens.  Notice the absolute focus of the image is now on the rose, while all else falls out of focus.  Your eye is forced to focus on the rose and nothing but the rose.  A powerful point of focus has been created.

Shooting with a wide open aperture, i.e., shallow depth of field, is a very effective way to photograph people, even in the midst of cluttered, busy backgrounds.  Below is another photograph shot last summer in the same alley the rose grows in.  In this one, the focus in on the boy’s right eye, yet the depth of field is so shallow his left eye is slightly out of focus.

Shooting ‘wide open’ does have its challenges.  With a fast moving target, such as a child at play, it is easy to come up with totally out-of-focus photographs.  However, with practice, you can learn to anticipate the direction the action is going and you can improve your reflexes.  Remember, if the subject’s eyes are in focus, all the rest can be a blur and all is well.  So aim for the eyes, or at least one of them.

One of my very favorite lenses, the Nikon 50mm f/1.4D Auto Focus AF Nikkor Lens, is also surprisingly inexpensive.

If you would like to read more, check out these articles:

Outdoor Portraiture – Photographing Families in Natural Light

Outdoor Portraiture – Overcoming Challenges

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2008. All rights reserved.| Permalink | 2 comments

Fall is approaching and this might be a good time to talk about how to handle an outdoor family session.  This is a good tutorial for those with a limited amount of equipment.  All you really need is a fairly good camera.  It would also be nice if you have a couple of different, fast lenses at your disposal. Depending on where you live, you might even be able to rent those lenses at a surprisingly low day rate.

I’ll be adding a resource page soon, so keep an eye out.

I’ll be using a single family session I did last fall to illustrate some of my ideas.

A family is a complex and shifting dynamic.  You’re dealing with individuals and the ‘group mind’ at the same time.  Photographing families requires several key components on the part of the photographer:

• Patience
• Keen observational skills
• Flexibility
• Patience
• Tact
• Diplomacy
• Fast reflexes
• Patience
• Creativity
• Good people skills
• Patience

Did I mention it takes patience?

The bigger the family, the more of all the above will be required of you.  Why bother?  Because it’s fun, you’ll get some GREAT shots for your portfolio, you’ll meet some wonderful people and get to hang out with some super duper kids.

There are all sorts of places to photograph people outdoors.  For this particular session, we chose Piedmont Park, right here in the heart of Midtown, Atlanta.  I advise going on a pre-shoot, scouting excursion to any location you’re considering.  You can figure out where the best angles and lighting are, and make note of anything to be avoided.  You can also start to formulate a ‘game plan’, which is never a bad idea for a busy family.

On an earlier scouting expedition,  I made note of the beautiful, old stonework at Piedmont Park and decided that would be a good place to start, before moving on to a fantastic old playground.

Kids will always be kids, so I just follow them around as they do their thing.  I talk to them and listen to what they have to say.  At first, most kids are a tad stilted, often stopping to ‘pose’ for me.  However, they usually put it together fairly fast that I’m not really about the pose.  That’s not to say I never make suggestions or help people arrange themselves into comfortable groups.  But for the most part, with kids, I just like to let them go.

I always make suggestions for clothing before a shoot.  This wonderful family came prepared with loads of clothing, hats, hoodies and accessories galore.  Before we even got started, I couldn’t resist getting a shot of one of the boys.  We weren’t even out of the parking lot yet and there were cars in the background.  Who cares?  This is that flexibility, fast reflexes and creativity I was just talking about.  I simply post processed it to look a little dirty and gritty and voila!  I’ll talk more about post processing in another post.

This family included mom, dad, grandmom and three children.  That’s a big dynamic to work with.  Lots of relationships going every which way.  I always ask what the highest priority is, then shoot that first.  If it’s a family shot, that’s usually a little more structured.  Afterward, you can loosen it up and start breaking the family out into smaller groups and individuals.  It’s much harder to rein everybody back in, than it is to start more formal and loosen it up as you go.  When you’re dealing with multiple generations, remember to be sensitive to the physical limitations of those who are older.

Cooler weather is great to shoot in.  All those great layered clothes and rosy cheeks.

Ask the kids if they have any ideas for the shoot.  This often results in some of the most dynamic and funny shots in a session.  All of the images below were suggestions of the children.

This family session was done on a bright, overcast day.  I’ve stated before that it is really perfect lighting for skin tones.

If you would like to read more, check out these articles:

Outdoor Portraiture – Overcoming Challenges

Depth of Field – Photography Tutorial

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2008. All rights reserved.| Permalink | 4 comments

With the whole, wide world out there to shoot in, why would anyone bother with a studio?  I’ll answer that question and then move on.  The best reason for having a studio is control.  Indoors, you have absolute control of climate, background and lighting.

However, not everyone has a studio, a camera room or even wants one (in a later post I will discuss ways to convert almost any room in your home into a camera room with comfort and ease). Or maybe you do have one, but want to break out of your cozy little comfort zone and take it to the streets.

What are some of the drawbacks and limitations to overcome when shooting in the great outdoors?

• Weather
• Light quality
• Bugs and creepy crawlies
• Other people
• Noise
• Background clutter
• Restrooms or lack thereof
• Dragging equipment around
• Food and water, or lack thereof

Let’s take these in order and discuss ways to deal.

• Weather–In the heat of summer, shoot early in the day.  Later in the day can be okay as well, but is usually not as cool and crisp as early morning.  In the cold of winter, work it baby!  This is a great time for bright, colorful, layered clothing, funky boots and shoes, scarves, hats, mittens, hoodies and so forth.  Get people moving, jumping, leaping and playing.

• Light quality—let’s face it, working out of doors is a mixed bag where lighting is concerned.  The first and most obvious way to use outdoor lighting to your advantage is to shoot early morning or late evening.  That way, you get to take advantage of the ‘golden hour’, that time when the sun’s rays are longer and more golden.  Did you know that bright, overcast days are PERFECT for outdoor portraits?  Skin tones are rendered beautifully in this type of light and colors are richer. Even a light drizzle is good, as long as you protect your camera with an umbrella.

Low light can be an issue as well, and this is where really good, fast prime lenses come in.  I’ll discuss this further under ‘background clutter’ below.

A special challenge is dappled lighting, such as you get under large trees.  Try to avoid shooting directly under trees and look for ‘open’ shade instead.  If you’re fortunate enough to have some assistance, which can come in the form of a member of the party not being photographed at the moment, they can hold a reflector to bounce some light onto the subject.

• Bugs and creepy crawlies—Fact of life and you just might have to learn how to deal.  Either that or some sort of spray on bug repellent.  Or how about just incorporating the little critters into the shoot?

• Other people—Often picking the early morning hours to shoot can help eliminate having to deal with lots of other people in public venues.  Early on a Sunday morning was a good time to be in this usually crowded subway station plaza, and we had the place completely to ourselves.

Other times, you might just have to learn to adapt.  I have just taught myself not to care what others may think.  As long as you’re polite and focused on the task at hand, most people are merely curious.  If the photographer is relaxed and at ease, the subject is more likely to feel the same.

• Noise—street noise can be a distraction in the city, sometimes making communication between subject and photographer difficult.  Easily enough solved…just step in closer to say what you need to say then carry on shooting.  Harness the energy of the city and just SPEAK UP!

• Background clutter—A pre-shoot scouting trip is helpful.  But the real weapon to deal with this issue is really fast prime lenses.  One of my favorite lens is the good old 50mm f/1.4 shot wide open.  This lens is fantastic for really focusing on eyes or blurring out backgrounds, not to mention letting in an amazing amount of light, even on a really dark day.

• Restrooms or lack thereof—Tricky.  Lots of public parks have them.  In town, there’s always coffee or sandwich shops (buy something, it’s only fair.)  Out in the country, well, that’s what bushes are for.  Hey, nobody’s watching.

• Dragging equipment around—this is where I liberated myself by making two distinct decisions.

1. No fill flash, only really fast prime lenses.
2. No bulky camera bag.  Instead I use the Shootsac. This ultra bitchin’ accessory is something I SO wish I had thought of.  Photographer Jessica Claire and entrepreneur Keats Elliott created it and it is a MUST HAVE.  It is incredibly comfortable and cradles your lenses very securely.  It will save you money in the long run by protecting your lenses from scratches and dings during shoots.

• Food and water, or lack thereof—Once again, public parks often have water fountains, coffee and sandwich shops certainly have beverages and you can always toss a few bottles of water and some peanut butter crackers in your car.  No biggie.  Oh, and while you’re in the coffee shop, you could go ahead and snag a window seat and use the local ambiance as a background.  Once again, that’s where those fast, prime lenses come in handy.

Outdoor Portraiture

Well, that about wraps up this little discussion on sweeping away the challenges for shooting in the great outdoors.

If you would like to read more, check out these articles:

Depth of Field – Photography Tutorial

Outdoor Photography – Photographing Families in Natural Light

Using Bold Color in Portraiture – Tips and Techniques

Wide Angle Lenses Are For Portraits Too – Tutorial

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2008. All rights reserved.| Permalink |